The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Dejan Kovacevic reports Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield is not worried about his job status, even as team owner Bob Nutting admits he is looking for a new CEO with more job responsibilities. "I don't approach my job any differently now than I did the first day I started. We work as hard as we can, work as smart as we can and try to be as effective as possible in my role and stay as focused as I can on helping us win more games," Littlefield said.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Dejan Kovacevic reports Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield believes his team's fundamentals are better than previous years, but he admits work remains to be done. "When I look at our bunting, frankly, it's a lot better. And there are other areas. But, when you go through a period of losing a few in a row and some games get away, those are the things that get highlighted," Littlefield said.

Dejan Kovacevic, of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, reports Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield said that he, along with owners Bob Nutting and Kevin McCarthy, will travel to the Dominican Republic this weekend. The group's goal will be to assess the Pirates organization's strengths and weaknesses in the country. Despite recent progress, Pittsburgh has been short on Latin American talent under the direction of Littlefield.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Pittsburgh Pirates 2B Jose Castillo (foot), who had X-rays scheduled for March 4 to check his sprained right foot, had those canceled after a fluid morning workout at McKechnie Field. He could play in a game "in the next couple days," general manager Dave Littlefield said.

Updating previous items, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Dejan Kovacevic reports Pittsburgh Pirates OF Xavier Nady (intestine) had a colonoscopy at Allegheny General Hospital in another attempt to find the cause of his inflamed intestine. Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield said no results were available the afternoon of Feb. 28, and the team had no further word as of late that night.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Dejan Kovacevic reports Pittsburgh Pirates 1B Brad Eldred will need more minor-league seasoning due to missing most of the 2006 season due to injuries. "He's missed a full season, so he needs to go down to Indianapolis and keep working on his game," Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield said. "We want him to do well. He's done some very good things, and we'd like to see him improve in a couple other areas."

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Dejan Kovacevic reports when Pittsburgh Pirates 2B Jose Castillo reports to spring training, he could check in 15-20 pounds lighter than he was last season, according to some in the organization. His official listing for 2006 was 219 pounds on a 6-foot-1 frame. "He's definitely in better shape now, which is a very positive thing," general manager Dave Littlefield said. "It's a sign that he committed himself to working hard and taking very seriously some of the advice we gave, like we give to every player at the end of a season."

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Dejan Kovacevic is reporting two sources indicate the Pittsburgh Pirates are interested in free-agent OF Trot Nixon (Red Sox). General manager Dave Littlefield is looking at a right-handed starter and another bat to add to the lineup.